In addition to a surface treatment, such as cleaning or painting, the term treatment is also used here to refer to any type of process on the vehicle body, for example bodyshell or assembly work.
In commercially known plants for such treatment of vehicle bodies, vehicle bodies to be treated are often conveyed on so-called skids between, and sometimes also in, individual treatment stations. A vehicle body is secured to each skid here, for which the vehicle bodies are produced with standardised holding components. In the case of vehicle bodies, such standardised holding components are known for example in the form of holding plates on the vehicle-body floor which are provided with a respective opening and often cooperate with locking pins on the skids. The skids are transported for example by conveyor units in the form of belt conveyors or roller conveyors, or also by suspended systems, which together form a conveyor system.
It may be that up to 400 and more vehicle bodies are conveyed in a treatment system at the same time, for which a corresponding number of skids and a corresponding network of belt, roller and suspended conveyors or the like is required.
All in all, in the case of known plants of the type mentioned at the outset, a relatively large quantity of steel is used for constructing the skids and their drive. This increases the total cost of such a treatment plant.
An object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a conveyor unit, a conveyor system and a plant of the type mentioned at the outset, which operates more economically and, at the same time, efficiently.